Mikael Granlund deserves a ton of credit for getting his career back on track in San Jose over the past year and a half, going from a player who looked to be rapidly declining to a strong point-producer.
The Sharks also deserve praise for helping to make that happen by putting the 33-year-old in positions to produce and then being able to flip him for a first-round draft pick. It worked out well for everybody.
It especially worked out for Granlund as he turned that production over a year and a half into a three-year, $21 million contract in free agency with the Anaheim Ducks.
But we don’t know how well this is going to work for the Ducks or Granlund.
The biggest factor in the Finn’s turnaround with the Sharks is that he got top-line ice time, played big power-play minutes and was put into positions where he would produce points. Even bad teams have leading scorers, and somebody is going to tally up those numbers. In San Jose’s case, it was largely Granlund.
After he was traded to Dallas, his production started to drop off again as his ice time and overall role decreased.
Is he going to get the minutes and role in Anaheim to produce the way he did for the Sharks? And if he doesn’t, is he going to do enough away from the puck?
He’s a playmaker, first and foremost, and at his best when he’s setting people up. He doesn’t have a strong defensive presence and isn’t really any sort of physical force. He has to produce points to have value.
And in a situation where he might get second-line ice time instead of the first-line variety, Anaheim isn’t going to get what it’s paying for here.
